LEE Carsley saw red on a foul night at Goodison - but not before he'd effectively killed off Preston's Carling Cup dream.

The former Blackburn Rovers midfielder curled a 51th minute free-kick from the edge of North End's penalty area around their wall and beyond the outstretched

arm of keeper Gavin Ward.

Within 20 minutes though, Carsley was off the field, given a straight red for elbowing Eric Skora in an off-the-ball incident, which was right in front of the referee.

North End couldn't make that extra man count, and five minutes from full-time, Marcus Bent killed off the game with a sweeping shot from a Leon Osman cross which had tricked Ward out of his goal.

The Championship visitors weren't without their chances. While they defended deep throughout the game, they did give Everton some scares.

Their best chance of the first half came from Andy Smith, who attempted to lob the keeper after turning a something-and-nothing cross-field ball into a real effort.

And in the second half, Yaoul Mawene thought he'd pulled North End back into the game when he chipped the ball from six yards after being fed through by Dickson Etuhu. The referee, however, had already flagged offside.